Any info on Lupfen or von Lupfen? I believe Lupfen was an area in southern Germany (as in Counts of Lupfen), but I have seen references placing the name in Switzerland also +/- 1500-1600s. I am searching for a possible connection to a previously requested name Lupfer. Also, any advice on historical maps showing locations which no longer exist or have same name? Trigg Lupher trigg@swbell.net

In November 1999, I submitted a request for genealogical records. I recieved a response from Benken, saying that a change in law had occurred and I needed to contact the Canton for permission. Do anyone know the specifics of the law for obtaining vital records in the Canton of Saint Gallen.

can anyone tell me how and who to contact in grabbs st gallen switzerland for information i have citzenship papers for 1912 person was born in 1894 so who would i contact to find out about this persons parents....thanks

sooo, what happens to the former ''residents'' of the recycled grave sites? just wondering. sincerely, PAT VEIDERS ADINOLFI in Buffalo,N.Y., U.S.A. http://community.webtv.net/asapava/apswebpage

- ------------------------------------------------ Grégoire SALAMIN gregsweb@netcourrier.com http://come.to/gregsweb/ - ------------------------------------------------ ----- Original Message ----- From: <Halltall@aol.com> To: <SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2000 2:08 PM Subject: [SWITZ] Re-cycling graves > In most European countries, the "30 and out" rule applies. Those countries > don't have the unilimited (or the atttiude that it is unilimited) space the > US has. I believe in some areas one can renew the lease, so to speak, for > quite a bit of money. The stones weren't always taken by family members, but > form the base for many a road-bed or building foundation. England hasn't > eradicated its old tombstones, thank goodness, and one can still find 400+ > year old stones there. > > JHall > > > ==== SWITZERLAND Mailing List ==== > Going on vacation? Gone longer than 4 days? > mail to Switzerland-L-request@rootsweb.com > subject line: unsubscribe > nothing in message > Do not add anything else but the one word.... unsubscribe >

Hi Lists, My research involves trying to verify the birth of an illegitimate son named Johannes Glauser, born March 1784 in Grafenried, Switzerland. The birth mother was Countess Salome Von Grafenried (-Diesbach), born abt 1730 in Fraubrunnen, Switzerland, and the birth father was Margrave Karl Alexander of Brandenburg-Ansbach, born in Germany, who was the son of the Aunt of King Friedrich Wilhelm II. I have just received the birth notice of Johannes and it lists the names of the family who adopted him (Bendicht Glauser and Ann Schär). I was hoping that the birth notice would list his birth mother and father not his adopted parents, which would verify his illegitimacy. The birth notice I received from Switzerland is a page from a parish book in old German script. Would there be an official birth certificate somewhere I could ask for? Can anyone give me some ideas on where to go next to verify the mother as being Countess Salome? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. thanks, robert rothenbühler new braunfels, texas piepint@nbtx.com

Hello List, I received in the mail today 3 pages of articles and obituaries about Nettie. Just a few lines about Nettie and her stay in Heimberg. from Toledo Blade Newspaper, Toledo, OH, Dec. 24, 1949 A former Toledo woman became an honorary citizen of Heimberg, Switzerland, today because of her surprise Christmas gift of $20,000 to the village children, most of whom had never seen her. Mrs. Nettie Poe Ketcham, who has lived in Berne, Switzerland, 25 years, maintained a cottage in Heimberg and frequently visited in the village to join reseidents in tea. Her girft to the village is to provide for a kindergarten for the children, an Associated Press dispatch from Heiberg said today. In accepting the gift, the village council presented Mrs. Ketcham with an inscribed vase and made her an honorary citizen. Mrs. Ketcham, widow of John Ketcham, is the daughter of the late Isaac N. Poe etc. === In an article dated Jan. 28, 1950, same paper, article is about Nettie, only an excerp: "In her will Mrs. Ketcham asked that her ashes, if possible, be scattered to the winds in Heimberg or placed in an urn there." Thank you for all the interesting responses from this list, and I wish all of you happy hunting! Jean Hehn Colorado

I, too, had difficulty in finding my ancestors in Switzerland. Over the years your detective skills do develop and with each success you have the courage to proceed even more. One day I was sorting through some old pictures that I've had for many years and happened to notice the writing on the front and back of each photo. I never paid much attention to them before. I got out a magnifying glass and wrote down every word, translated what I could and then, because the Internet is so wonderful, I typed in the word I always thought of as the name of the photo studio in the search engine. Boy, was I surprised when it turned out to be the name of a village, Niederweningen. Bingo, I was "on the road again" and that is the town where I found my ancestors. It seems the "answers" are right in front of us sometimes but we don't see them at first. A german lady volunteer at the Salt Lake City Family History Center helped my daughter and me to understand some of the "old handwriting" and told us that the numbers after the family name were "house" numbers. We looked down the census for everyone at house number "282" and found not only our ancestor but his siblings and parents. We have since found another generation back. Our brick wall is that the last man on the path has a name Johann with no middle name and, as you know, most of the men are called Johann at birth. We won't give up though. I guess we should be thankful that people didn't move from house to house over there like we do here in the States. I hope this information will be helpful to all of you. Anne Bowie Researching: Conrad BUCHER in Niederweningen, Zurich, Switzerland

Hello all! Time to take the leap. I am researching John George Heck, deceased 1 May 1933 in Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania, born to Jacob Heck and Ann Elizabeth Schaub of Basle on 25 Feb 1857, who traveled with his brother Christopher to America sometime on or before 25 April 1885. The Basel Stadt & Kanton Liestal Zivilstandsamt have found no records, suggesting birth out of the city in a village & referring to the heimatort? The family is said to have come up from Graubünden before that. Will appreciate any & all information or leads including addresses & telephones of living relatives. Richard Charles (Devon McLellan Heck Jr) >From: Anne & Pete Bowie <gqp@gqpnras.com> >Reply-To: anne@gqpnras.com >To: SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: [SWITZ] Old Photos >Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 07:31:24 -0800 > >I, too, had difficulty in finding my ancestors in Switzerland. Over the >years your detective skills do develop and with each success you have the >courage to proceed even more. > >One day I was sorting through some old pictures that I've had for many >years >and happened to notice the writing on the front and back of each photo. I >never paid much attention to them before. I got out a magnifying glass and >wrote down every word, translated what I could and then, because the >Internet is so wonderful, I typed in the word I always thought of as the >name of the photo studio in the search engine. > >Boy, was I surprised when it turned out to be the name of a village, >Niederweningen. Bingo, I was "on the road again" and that is the town where >I found my ancestors. > >It seems the "answers" are right in front of us sometimes but we don't see >them at first. A german lady volunteer at the Salt Lake City Family History >Center helped my daughter and me to understand some of the "old >handwriting" >and told us that the numbers after the family name were "house" numbers. We >looked down the census for everyone at house number "282" and found not >only >our ancestor but his siblings and parents. We have since found another >generation back. Our brick wall is that the last man on the path has a name >Johann with no middle name and, as you know, most of the men are called >Johann at birth. We won't give up though. I guess we should be thankful >that >people didn't move from house to house over there like we do here in the >States. > >I hope this information will be helpful to all of you. > >Anne Bowie >Researching: Conrad BUCHER in Niederweningen, Zurich, Switzerland > > >==== SWITZERLAND Mailing List ==== >Support RootsWeb! Help provide FREE genealogical resources on the >Internet: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

Jean H., Unless the church has kept records and you can find a old bible you are pretty much lost. I am searching in Switzerland as well and I find it difficult. They recommend a professional geneaolgist but they may find nothing as well to the find old sites and documents.????? Gene.

Looking for information on Jacob Schneider family. Jacob was b. Lucerne in 1816. Father was George Schneider and George was b. in Germany. Looking for any additional lead prior to 1848 when he came to the United States. Ron Schneider

Gene wrote that he was disappointed with the Swiss Government for not preserving the grave stones and records. Gene, if you understand European History and the overcrowding, you would understand why they "recycle" cemeteries. Each family pays a fee to rent the plot. The families maintain them. They are very cost conscious over there. So, when it comes time to recycle, the families are very glad to put an end to that expense for an ancestor that they may have never met. The Churches keep the records. I visited Goldscheuer in Baden Wurtemburg in Germany and the cemetery had "all" my relatives. 90% were ancestors. In one corner there were dozens of stones piled against each other. I guess they were waiting until someone came and got them. It would have been too much to have to pay for all those plots left in the cemetery. I began at the beginning with my camera taking pictures of stones and gave up after I realized it would take several rolls of 36 exposure film to accomplish the deed. So, that is "their" custom in Europe. At least they keep the church records. The records are sometimes written in Latin with the Latin spellings which are not necessarily the local spellings. (Example: Catherine instead of Katherine). Anne Bowie Researching: BUCHER in Neiderweningen, Zurich, Switzerland

I was hoping for alittle more. Nettie Poe Ketcham did alot for the people in that area, she was buried in Heimberg upon her request in the farmer's cemetery. Maybe she knew her gravesite was going to be recycled. I have her on my website and am lucky to have what I have, I am grateful for that. She did not have any family in Switzerland, what family was left were Smith's in Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey and area. I do when possible like to get buried info and headstone. Thank you to the list for all the enlightening information! Jean Hehn http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Stage/4274/page40.htm

That to a certain degree would be "very practical, if ya think about it! Reusing the graves! But I wouldn't like it if I was a genealogist there, though I suppose it's to each his own. There would probably be records in the courts saying they died, but what if there wasn't! Course back then too, family bible's were kept by each family, I suppose! Keeping records I am sure wasn't much of a priority, because poor people could barely pay their taxes & feed themselves! Feeding themselves was a constant struggle, that & keeping the family well! Cathy Raber -----Original Message----- From: SWITZERLAND-D-request@rootsweb.com <SWITZERLAND-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: SWITZERLAND-D@rootsweb.com <SWITZERLAND-D@rootsweb.com> Date: Sunday, January 09, 2000 7:42 AM Subject: SWITZERLAND-D Digest V00 #12

Hello, If Nettie Poe Ketcham, died in Berne, and is buried in Heimburg, which church would I consult? Thank you Jean Hehn Colorado

In a message dated 01/09/2000 12:40:41 AM Mountain Standard Time, genrsch@gve.ch writes: << So please remember that if the commune decides what rules apply, Heimberg in Canton Bern will have to be consulted for their local ordinances. >> ==== So, how would I go about that? Jean Hehn Colorado

This is indeed sad on the part of the Suisse government to do this at least preserve the records and stones if nothing else. Gene.> <SKARBO@aol.com>

In a message dated 1/8/2000 12:50:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, SWITZERLAND-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: << I am searching for descendents of "Messerschmidt" (knifemaker) Schneider and Caroline Gimpel, who emigrated from Emmendingen, Baden, Germany about 1849 to Geneva Switzerland. Emigrating with them were their children, Karl, William, August, Caroline Oliver (1834-1901), Louise (1837-1899), and Frederika (1842-1893). Frederika married a Mr. Campioto, or Campicta, and they had a daughter, Marguerite, who married a Mr. Brachard. The Brachard's had sons Charles, Pierre, and Parc. Karl had a son, Charles Frederick (1855-1917). Charles Frederick also had a son, Charles Louis born in 1882 who, in turn, had a son Frederick Christion, born in 1907, who married Claire and had daughters Sylvia (1958) and Catherine (1961) I would appreciate hearing from anyone who might have links to these ancestors of mine. I am "Messerschmidt" Schneider's great great granddaughter. Christina Schneider Howard Dayton, Ohio USA >> I don't know if I have a link. But I do have a Katharina Schneider as 1st wife of my gggrandfather (Johann Andreas Bienz) in Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. They were married there on 5/12/1800. I don't have a birth date or location on her and assumed it was Basel-Stadt. However, his second wife Katharina Mellert whom he married in 1817 was from Emmendingen, Baden, Germany and their marriage was recorded at both locations. It seems Johann married he or his spouses traveled between these two towns and knew people in both locations. Of course its just a stab in the dark but stranger things have been known to happen. I assume Katharina Schneider died in or prior to 1817. She left Johann with possibly 8 living Children. I doubt he could travel easily with such a brew. Which mean Katharina Mellert probably came to him, prehaps she was a friend or relative of Katharina Schneider from her home town?

In most European countries, the "30 and out" rule applies. Those countries don't have the unilimited (or the atttiude that it is unilimited) space the US has. I believe in some areas one can renew the lease, so to speak, for quite a bit of money. The stones weren't always taken by family members, but form the base for many a road-bed or building foundation. England hasn't eradicated its old tombstones, thank goodness, and one can still find 400+ year old stones there. JHall

I just bought a Translator program for the PC user ( Cant find any for mac addicts yet ). The program is called Professional Universal Translator. It "Instantly Translates Documents, Web Pages, and E-Mail in 40 languages." It also has voice Translation technology. It has asian keyboard Utilities, Complete Office Integration, Microsoft dictation, Text-to-speech, and can spell check 35 languages. If anyone is interested in purchasing this program the web page addreess listed on the box is http://www.languageforce.com or write to: LanguageForce Inc. 1601 East Lincoln Avenue, Orange California 92865 (714 AC) 2799080. I bought this program at Staples. Shalori **If your a mac addict you can purchase a program called Virtual PC and install the language translator onto it and be able to use PC programs on your mac. -- No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow.-Alice Walker